Updated as of 08/14/12.
With the current dashboard you can only read the firmware off of your drive unless it is unlocked. There are several ways you could go about flashing the slim drives; Order an unlocked one from TeamXecuter, use a spare 9504 PCB from before the dashboard update 13599, or you can unlock the drive yourself. I suggest buying a spare PCB from Xecuter, it is the easiest thing to do, in my opinion. Being the easiest, though, it is also the most expensive method. They can range anywhere from $50 to $100, from what I've seen. Go to this link to find where you can buy one yourself. http://team-xecuter.com/where-to-buy/

This tutorial works for slim liteon

9504/​

0272, 0225, ​

0401, and 1071, only.​

The firmware has been released. You will need to figure out if you have an MXIC or a WINBOND, to check if you can actually flash it or not. To check this, take out the disc drive out and turn it over. In the middle there is a chip with tiny writing on it. When you look at it it will say MEDIATEK. Look at the writing all the way to the bottom. It will either start with 03 or 05.
03=MXIC
05=WINBOND

You can unlock both MXIC and WINBOND but I will only be explaining the MXIC, due to the fact that I have never done a WINBOND and I dont want to mess anyone up. It requires a dangerous hack (for the drive, that is).

Before we unlock the drive, we will read the firmware from it and create a dummy.bin. If you already have yours, skip to unlocking the drive.
Connect your drive to the computer if you havent already done so. I use an X360USB and a CK3Lite to connect mine. I am not sure if you have to power the drive with the CK3 or not, but I have not had success using the xbox and I have heard that powering without the drive connected completely can result in a flag.
Open up Jungleflasher and got to the DVDKey 32 tab and check the I/O pors until you find your drive. Once you have your drive, and you are sure its the right one, hit the SlimKey button. It will pop up with a window asking if you want to send Slim Unlock, click no. Another window will pop up telling you that you will need to power cycle the drive. Click yes and turn the drive off and on within one second ONCE. Doing it more than once might cause an error. It will not harm the drive at all but it slows down the process. After JungleFlasher does its business, it will pop up with a window asking you to save the Dummy.Bin. Save it somewhere you will remember. Now you will unlock the drive.

MXIC can be unlocked using several methods; Soldering a Sputnik360 MX Edition PCB, using a Sputnik MX Probe, or performing what is called the basic russian hack. Out of those I suggest the Sputnik360 PCB, simply because its the easiest. But again, being easiest makes it the most expensive. The next easiest is the probe. Follow the above link to buy either one.

Soldering the Sputnik360 PCB:
This requires 1 trace cut and 3 solder points. After you solder it to your drive, it is permanant. It makes updating the drive super easy.
The link below will tell you how to install the switch without a problem. Thank you UberGeek. http://team-xecuter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69268

The Basic Russian Hack is almost exactly the same as the probe you other than the probe you use to do it with. For this method, solder a 10ohm resistor to GND and then probe the hole next to the cut you made, at the correct time. The picture below shows the trace cut and where to probe.

Flashing the new firmware;
First, Put the newest firmware in the Firmware folder.
Second, Connect the drive to the computer using the SATA/X360USB and the Ck3.
Third, Open up JungleFlasher 1.92 and go to the MTK Flash 32 Tab.
Fourth, Make sure you find your drive on the left. When you find it, select the intro/device ID button. Now it will tell you that your drive is locked. If you installed the Sputnik switch or replacement drive, click yes, and flip the switch to unlock. Once you hear a beep, switch it back to normal. If you used the probe or Russian hack, clikc yes and then probe the correct spot. It will say SPI Status 0x00, which was what the beep was for. That means you can stop probing or switch your switch back.
Fifth, Click read and you will be prompted with a box. If your drive is an 0272, click no, any other, yes.
Sixth, It will ask you to resend the command. Click yes, then switch the drive off then on within 1 second.
Seventh, SAVE YOUR FIRMWARE!!!! Do NOT lose this.
Eighth, It will ask you if you want to autoload iXtreme. Click yes.
Ninth, Go back to the MTK Flash 32 tab. Click intro again. It might ask you to power cycle again, it might not. If yes, DO IT!!!! The drive should be in Vendor mode.
Tenth, Click the Write button. It should all go smooth from there.
Eleventh, Re-lock the drive. Get it back into vendor mode again. Click intro, power cycle if asked. When it says its in Vendor mode, Press CTRL + SHIFT and press F11. To check if its locked, click intro again and it should tell you its locked.
Twelfth, Test it out!!!!!

Before some of the newer firmware came out for flashing drives that could play XGD3 backups, people made truncated copies of the games (incomplete rips). DO NOT USE THESE. They WILL get you banned. You should run every backup you have/get (cough cough) through ABGx360. It will make sure that the rip was done correctly and that it is safe to take online.

To patch games with all the newest checks, use ABGx360.
First, In ABGx, select the game iso from the folder.
Second, Make sure the autocorrect is set to level 3.
Third, Let it run its course.
Fourth, Burn using IMGBurn. (For Mac its ISOx360)

There you have it!!! You can now play your XGD3 backups online!!

I do not condone piracy, nor do i take any responsibility if you damage or destroy your xbox. Perform any of these tasks at your own risks, and enjoy running backups online. I wrote this tutorial and if you would like to use it, make sure you give proper credit where its due. Thank you JungleFlasher, Team Xecuter, and iXtreme for everything. Thanks C4Eva for the firmware!!!!

Hahahaha You have no idea whats going on during the flashing process!!! You check your keys match before writing the firmware to the drive. What happens if you check once your done, like you did, and the keys dont match? What are you going to do then? haha Good tut on showing people how to click a few buttons I guess... Pretty weak tut..

Hahahaha You have no idea whats going on during the flashing process!!! You check your keys match before writing the firmware to the drive. What happens if you check once your done, like you did, and the keys dont match? What are you going to do then? haha Good tut on showing people how to click a few buttons I guess... Pretty weak tut..

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I forgot to check before, like you said, but i said it in the text. Ill make a note on the video. And, not everyone has time to look for the JF tutorial, and some people are more visual so thats the point of the video.

I forgot to check before, like you said, but i said it in the text. Ill make a note on the video. And, not everyone has time to look for the JF tutorial, and some people are more visual so thats the point of the video.

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Ya I dont mean to grind you. But you should of re-recorded. A tutorial should be perfect. It will decrease the amount of confusion people get when doing something like this. And thats the point of the tut to make it as easy as possible for others. Also why was your drive completely taken apart? You only have to take the drive out of the xbox you dont need to take the drive apart just plug the sata in. Maybe show people how to connect the drive to your pc also.

Ya I dont mean to grind you. But you should of re-recorded. A tutorial should be perfect. It will decrease the amount of confusion people get when doing something like this. And thats the point of the tut to make it as easy as possible for others. Also why was your drive completely taken apart? You only have to take the drive out of the xbox you dont need to take the drive apart just plug the sata in. Maybe show people how to connect the drive to your pc also.

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Good points, I think i will re-record. I took it apart so that i could hotswap before. Thank you, you will see a new version of this video.

The xbox will not power the drive if you dont have both of the cords plugged into it and the drive. So, Yes you need the CK3 lite.

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I'm not sure you understood what I was asking... I wanted to power the drive, without the CK3 lite, by using the xbox as the power source (I was only asking because I didn't know if I risked being flagged). I did so, and flashed with no problems. Currently playing a burnt copy of black ops. Good work c4eva, and thanks for the tut Str8UpWhite64 +rep

I'm not sure you understood what I was asking... I wanted to power the drive, without the CK3 lite, by using the xbox as the power source (I was only asking because I didn't know if I risked being flagged). I did so, and flashed with no problems. Currently playing a burnt copy of black ops. Good work c4eva, and thanks for the tut Str8UpWhite64 +rep

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I understood, and you are lucky my friend. Lots of people are reporting that they cant flash without the ck3 lite because the xbox wont power their drive. I dont believe you get flagged, I have done it also. When i told JF they called me a liar and said you cant power the drive using the xbox because you need both of the cords plugged into it and the drive. Im glad it worked for you.

Nice thanks for the tut. I myself am planning on getting a slim in the near future but not to mod,thats why i have my my 360 (FAT) i just plan to use it for things like live, pandora, netflix, etc, etc there is no way i would wanna void the warranty on the slim either, though i hear it only comes with a 1 yr warrenty, is this true?

Nice thanks for the tut. I myself am planning on getting a slim in the near future but not to mod,thats why i have my my 360 (FAT) i just plan to use it for things like live, pandora, netflix, etc, etc there is no way i would wanna void the warranty on the slim either, though i hear it only comes with a 1 yr warrenty, is this true?